We woke to another hot day and noted that the boat opposite us could well have belonged to us.
We filled with water and then set off down the Northampton Arm with 17 locks ahead of us as we descended to Northampton. After about 5 locks Leon appeared. Dressed in bright orange shorts and a long sleeved shirt. The latter was soon to be discarded although not the shorts - although we have since heard that they sometimes go too. He offered to help us down for “free” and although we initially said ‘no’ we are unsure how this somehow turned into ‘yes’ . Leon drank his cider all the way down and periodically smoked. However he was very fit, stepped across the narrow lower gates to save walking round, was incredibly knowledgable about the canal and where to close your doors as travellers had camped nearby! He never attempted to come inside the boat and indeed he hung on the side between some locks and went off through the houses with a windlass to prepare locks as we sailed the long way round. Leon’s stories were very entertaining and he came from Newcastle so we had a lot in common!!!!
We decided to moor in the marina at Northampton to use the Laundrette and hook up facilities for the electricity. We are very conscious that the fridge is having to work overtime in this weather and putting it on the landline for 2 days helps. When we went to buy the licence for the River Nene etc. we heard that Leon is banned from this marina, CRT have apparently tried to get him banned from the flight and some people are intimidated by him. To us he was a great help and the money we gave him was worth it for the entertainment alone. Further research on the internet has shown that some people actually book him although as he seems to lose mobile phones all the time we are not sure how that works. It will be interesting to see if he appears when we are going back up the flight in a few weeks time.
Needless to say I was so busy concentrating on the locks and seeing where Graham and Leon had got too that I didn’t take many photos. However we will pass this way again so maybe the camera will come out then. I did take one photo which is of the lift-testing tower which has been a Northampton landmark since the Queen opened it in 1982. After a period of disuse it was recommissioned in 2009 and is often now used in abseiling circles. It is 418ft high and dwarfs all of Northamptonshire’s church spires by some margin.
Off to look around the town tomorrow before watching a certain football match in the afternoon.
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